9 x 12"oil on masonite
sold
I wanted to do a very special piece for an upcoming Small Works Show at the Howard/Mandville Gallery, so I chose an image with a beautiful, strong red. Hopefully to catch someone's eye amidst a large group of paintings. I like it very much. These were two, what I gathered, best girlfriends, enjoying time together in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
What goes along with experimenting is failure - which was yesterday's painting, 5 hours of work and wiped off in 30 seconds. Today was much better. It all clicked. And I'm looking at, what may be, my top 10 personal favorites. It's not the subject matter so much as it's simply how I want to paint.
This was a bright, summer day at Rehobeth Beach, Delaware - a few days before Labor Day weekend. Please click here if you'd like a larger view.
This painting has sold.
6 x 6"oil on masonite
sold
This is a very painterly piece - an impressionistic view of what could be considered just an ordinary street on a bright, summer's day in Asheville.
Just to mention - between all of catching up on the mundane chores of life this past week, I've been trying out a couple of ideas and a bit too shy to show them yet. With a little breathing room with the galleries fully stocked up on paintings, I try to take the opportunity to step back and study .... experiment.
One thing that gave me a jolt was watching this BBC miniseries "The Impressionists". Rent it, it's good. There's reminders that we need to take the time and look and study the world around us. It reminds me to stick with what I think we really do see, at a glance - the blocks and shapes of colors, shadows and light - and to paint just that.
I also discovered an artist that reminded me of what I just mentioned. He's Doug Braithwaite, and you'll notice the thumbnails look somewhat ordinary until you opt for a larger view.
8 x 8"oil on masonite
sold
Corot's painting "Interrupted Reading"
After spending days getting caught up on my neglected life - housework, yardwork, varnishing, framing, packaging, shipping... I collapsed on my chair and started to paint. I think I just needed to do something completely different, get some practice time in - I chose a painting that I've been enamored with for years - titled, "Interrupted Reading", by Jean Baptiste Camille Corot. Oddly, I felt the urge to flip the image, with all due respect to the artist, and I delve into the rich, autumn colors (something my brain misses). I really enjoyed painting this piece and it was a nice way to end the day.
9 x 12"oil on masonite
sold
As I was working on this new piece, I thought this was a good example of a key element to figure drawing/painting and I wanted to share it with you. I drew a red line connecting the center of the neckbone, to the tailbone and down to the heel of the foot to show that weight and balance, no matter what the size of a person is, always lines up this way. Naturally. In other words, when we stand up, the weight of our body either rests on one leg/foot or on both. Where the weight is put on should connect straight up to the center of the back of the neck. I learned that a million years ago and never forgot it.
This painting hopefully conveys the direct connection we feel when we have the pleasure of viewing a work of art in person.
6 x 6"oil on masonite
sold
On such a bright, beautiful day today, I chose to paint one of my favorite places in my favorite city, Chicago. Formally titled "Cloudgate", informally called "The Bean", here it reflects the wall of buildings along Michigan Avenue, with slight hints of visitors and the yellow umbrellas in the cafe in front of Millennium Park. It's a challenging subject to paint, relying on shapes and blocks of color that hopefully make sense in the end.
"Capitol Domes" sold
"Performance Art" sold
"Bench Rest" sold
I do like to keep my gallery paintings fresh and from time to time I'll pull something out and replace it with a piece more recently done. These three are available for a direct purchase, thru eBay and Paypal, if you are interested.
Saturday update - the three paintings have sold. Thank you so much for your consideration.
8 x 10"oil on masonite
sold
I overheard this woman asking a guard to direct her and her husband to the American Art galleries in the museum, so I offered to lead the way. They were a really sweet couple - from Harrisburg, I think. I caught a glimpse of them in front of Grant Wood's "American Gothic", standing still and reserved, while listening to their headphones - and it just seemed so right.
6 x 6"oil on masonite
sold
What I love the most about painting people is capturing that kink of the hip or twist of the neck - whatever it is that makes it more candid or believable. You don't get that when someone knows you're looking or taking their picture. Just people being themselves is what I always want. This young lady was enjoying the paintings in the Art Institute of Chicago.
9 x 12"oil on masonite
sold
Very much a 'zen' painting for me. Quiet and still. I spend a lot of time avoiding greens, mostly the grassy greens - once in a while I get brave and try it. I don't like to paint pretty garden pieces - don't much care to paint florals either - but this setting, the young woman, the ease, is what I found pleasing.
7 x 5"oil on masonite
This little painting was done for a fund-raising event called Postcards from the Ledge, held in Asheville, North Carolina. Sponsored by the city's Public Art Board, postcard-size artwork will sell for $25 each. If you're interested in donating a work of art or would like to attend this event, click here for details.
11 x 14"oil on masonite
sold
Clearly, an irresistable painting subject - a pretty, little girl admiring Claude Monet's "Water Lily Pond". I watched her and her sister look and talk about the art, accompanied by a wise grandmother. Most kids fidget and become bored in an art museum - those two girls were soaking it all up, like a sponge.
9 x 12"oil on masonite
sold
I mostly love the young woman's form in this painting - the slumped over posture, the weight on her arm, the strands of hair falling forward. She is seemingly unimpressed with the painting before her, done by the modernist Marsden Hartley, titled "Madawaska-Acadian Light-Heavy", which hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago.
Please click here for a larger view.
A big thank-you to Anne B. for helping me identify the painting on the wall in front of the woman.
I said I was going to take a few days off but today's been a perfect, mellow, end-of-the-summer day. A good day for painting. I enjoyed the free-hand piece so much yesterday, that I did another, staying as loose as possible. After all, it's a day at the beach. Real people, real life. Enjoy your holiday.
This scene is from South Beach, Miami.
Please click here for a larger view and purchase information.
8 x 10"oil on masonite
sold
I kinda took the day off today - I had lunch with my good friends, Neil & Karen Hollingsworth, who are both extraordinary painters. After we ate, they persuaded me to paint something and this is what I did. Free-hand, loose, painterly - just how I love to do it.
Karen & Neil are having a show at the Wynne/Falconer Gallery, in Chatham, Massachusetts - the opening reception is next Saturday, the 8th. They've worked hard on this collection of work - a lot of the pieces are pre-sold. You must take a look.
9 x 12"oil on masonite
sold
This is a painting I've wanted to do for a long time. I kept passing over it because.... well.....I didn't know if I could pull it off. The light is sweet, the walls have many tones, and the women is somewhat vague because she was a step back from the spotlights. It was a tough one. The result, I think, is a really nice warmth, especially with the gold tones of the walls and the reddish-brown of the floor. I love it.
This was a scene taken from my opening reception, at the 16 Patton Gallery in Asheville.
Have a great holiday weekend - I think I'll take a couple days off myself.
8 x 8"oil on masonite
I painted this piece yesterday - a gift to a friend. It is a moment taken from my July show in Asheville, at the 16 Patton Gallery.
Just about 4 years ago, I picked up a paint brush for the first time in many, many years. My business was hurting, I was going on two years without a paycheck and I needed to figure something out or else I'd have to let a couple of my employees go. And I just couldn't do that. I wouldn't do that.I knew I could draw, so I got busy doing these little paintings, like the garlic above. I put them on eBay, for the first time, sold them for around $20 and when I made $100, my motivation kicked in like you wouldn't imagine. I'd work all day, paint every night, and I kept at it for months. When I got enough savings, I tore down my old shed in the backyard and built a place for me to paint. A real studio. The day it was finished, I bought oil paints and started teaching myself - and trust me, it wasn't easy. Little by little, I got the hang of it - and in three months, I had my first, sellable painting ready to put on eBay. That was January of 2004.
The rest of the story is that this is what I do for a living. I paint. I still have my business, still have the same employees and out of necessity, I stepped into a whole new chapter of my life. It is possible.
Often I am asked where to start. We live in the best of times - remember - the internet and computers are the fuel to get you going. Learn all you can and work hard at it every day. It'll happen.
8 x 8"oil on masonite
sold
This was really a painting I did for me. One of those 'can I pull this off?' paintings. I loosened up, concentrating on the warm & cool greys and getting the perspective right. The woman is somewhat of a ghostly figure, less defined - half of her dark and half of her lit up from the daylight pouring down the marble stairs. From the center lobby in the Art Institute of Chicago.
10 x 8"oil on masonite
sold
It's true. I said I wasn't going to paint any more summer, beach paintings for a good while. But it was Sunday afternoon, still hot as hell outside, and this was my moment of Zen.
9 x 12"oil on masonite
Care to spend some of your Saturday evening thinking about a title for this painting? I could use some suggestions. I just can't nail it. There's the enormous bag the woman's carrying - the flowery, long dress - the bare back - the painting of the woman reading seemingly looking right back at her. Lots to consider. Thank you, I appreciate the input.
I thank all of you for your clever ideas for a title - the one that feels right, to me, is "Back Atcha", suggested by Claire M.
Please click here for a larger view and purchase information.
12 x 9"oil on masonite
Early this year, I tore out a page in a magazine that announced open submissions for the Greenwich Workshop Gallery's Annual Miniature Show. I thought it would be a long shot, to be accepted, but I've mustered up the courage to at least try - so I just entered this new piece for their consideration. Cross your fingers - I won't know until the end of September.
For those who don't know the Greenwich Workshop Gallery, they represent some of the top-notch painters in the country. As a picture framer, I drool over the giclees my customers bring in from that gallery. So you see why it's a long shot - but heck, why not try?
This scene is a young lady tucked away in the side garden of the Art Institute of Chicago.
9 x 12"oil on masonite
sold
After a good night's sleep and several cups of coffee, I was compelled to change a few things on the most recent painting. Oddly, it's something that I rarely do - but I've learned that when I take a fresh look, if there's something that pops into my head right away, I have to address it. In this case, I thought it lacked warmth. Perhaps I was carried away with the multitudes of greys, which I seem to love experimenting with - still, I'm much happier with the painting now. Time to move on.
9 x 12"oil on masonite
I'm sure I was inspired by the "Power of Art" series on PBS - the segment of Mark Rothko especially. This newest painting was done with the intention of placing someone in front of a massive Rothko abstract that married well with the overall colors and tones. I really enjoyed this and intend to do more down the road.
More information about this painting will follow in a few days.
12 x 12"oil on masonite
sold
I know I could paint a lot more if this HOT WEATHER would go away. Ugh. Before I call it a day, I'll post my newest piece, which has such a nice, quiet feel to it. A young lady is viewing Vincent Van Gogh's "Lullaby (Portrait of Madame Roulin"), which hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago.
